Carla Rahn Phillips
271 19th Ave S
Minneapolis,
MN
55455
After 41 years at the University of Minnesota, I retired in May of 2013 and moved to central Texas, where I am affiliated with the History Department at the University of Texas, Austin. I also spend time in San Diego, California, where I am associated with the Maritime Museum. I was part of the museum’s design team for the reconstruction of the galleon San Salvador, which Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed into San Diego Bay in 1542. The ship meets modern Coast Guard standards for safety below decks, but otherwise it looks as much like Cabrillo’s original ship as we could make it. The website of the San Diego Maritime Museum has pictures and details about the project (www.sdmaritime.org). My research and writing continue to focus on the social and economic history of Spain and its maritime connections from the late 15th to the early 18th centuries, including a translation and edition of a manuscript about a voyage to the South Atlantic in the late 16th century; articles and a book translation about the 1519–22 Magellan-Elcano voyage around the world; other Spanish voyages of exploration; and ongoing work about the recently-located wreck of the Spanish galleon San José, which sank in 1708 off the coast of Colombia and is the focus of much international interest and concern.
Educational Background
- B.A.: History, Pomona College, 1965 -
- M.A.: Early Modern and Modern European History, New York University, 1966 -
- Ph.D.: Early Modern European History, New York University, 1972 -
Specialties
- Spanish maritime and naval history
- Spain 1492-1800
- History of Europe, 1300-1800
- European Exploration, 1492-1800
- European economy and society 1350-1750